Charles Collier, Rebel Wilson‘s former UK agent, has offered a frank assessment of the legal mess that has engulfed The Deb during evidence to a trial in Australia.
Appearing in front of a Sydney court via video link from the UK, Collier described the proceedings as a “car crash” that had resulted from a clash of personalities on the independent film, which represents Wilson’s directorial debut.
Wilson is being sued for defamation by Charlotte MacInnes, The Deb‘s lead actress. MacInnes claims Wilson tarnished her reputation by alleging that she had made a sexual harassment complaint against The Deb producer Amanda Ghost, then later walked back her concerns to the benefit of her career.
Wilson insists that MacInnes told her that an incident in September 2023, during which MacInnes and Ghost shared a bath in swimsuits, had made the young actress uncomfortable.
Collier, who at times appeared visibly exasperated with how The Deb had spiraled into a legal quagmire, said he attempted to help Wilson resolve the tensions that emerged between her and Ghost following the bathing incident.
Collier recalled how he wished to deal with Danny Cohen, president of Access Industries, which was bankrolling The Deb, on matters relating to the dispute because he wanted to speak to the “adults in the room,” rather than with Ghost directly.
He continued: “My recollection was, ‘Oh, this is very, very sad. This is very depressing. We’ve got this film up and running, and now people are falling out.’ And I think certainly we were advising Rebel [to] speak to Danny Cohen, so that he, as the ultimate boss of the financier and the producer, could bring people together and sort this out. Here we are [in court] two or three years later, and obviously he had problems herding some cats there.”
Collier, who appeared before the court early in the morning UK time, punctuated his evidence by sipping coffee from a china cup, and at one point audibly yawned. Whether MacInnes made a complaint to Wilson or not, it was clear that Collier was of the view that Ghost had not behaved professionally in bathing with the actress.
In an email to Cohen in October 2023, he referred to the incident — which Ghost and MacInnes say was non-sexual and followed a medical misadventure on Bondi Beach — as a “red flag matter.” Collier asked the former BBC executive to deal with the issue by requiring Ghost to “step back” from The Deb‘s shoot in Australia.
The court was also shown an email Collier sent Wilson, in which he told the Pitch Perfect star that he was attempting to have an “ethic” clause inserted in Ghost’s producer contract. This would have enabled the production to suspend or terminate Ghost’s deal should she have behaved in an inappropriate way “prior to or during the term of the agreement.”
He said the clause was an effort to “smoke her out” following the bathing incident. “We are trying to find language there to put Amanda Ghost on the spot as a producer, and that language says there are professional and ethical standards that apply to you, and no producer should have any problem signing up to this as part of their clause,” Collier explained.
He added: “If indeed Amanda had done nothing wrong, then she would have not hesitated to have signed up to this clause. No right-thinking producer could have any hesitation to sign up to such a clause … In any event, it was her duty as a woman with young people in her care, working for her, to agree to basic ethical standards.”
Collier, who runs agency Chalcot Square, could not recall if the clause was eventually included in Ghost’s contract.
The court was also shown encouraging messages he sent Wilson as the dispute unraveled before The Deb‘s shoot. “It just needs you to be a F*****G LEGEND and keep going for the next few months in what is basically a marathon made up of intense daily sprinting,” he wrote.
“That you deliver inspiring leadership, and brilliant creative vision, and that you create a glorious working environment for everyone, whilst all the time also somehow looking after your own ability to be a great direct. [sic] a great actor. a great writer. a great producer. It’s a LOT of shit. I hope you’re taking loads of vitamins and getting a lot of love from everyone closest to you. Onwards to glory!”
Earlier on Friday, The Deb‘s Australian producer Greer Simpkin gave evidence. The court heard that Simpkin sent an email to Ghost in September 2023, in which she stated that MacInnes did “some fudging” when the actor allegedly walked back concerns about the behavior of Ghost.
Wilson was surrounded by fans and posed for selfies during her entry to the Sydney court on what was meant to be final day of the trial. The case has been heard by Justice Elizabeth Raper.
